Severely cold weather often is a significant impediment to starting and operating a motor vehicle. For example, such a vehicle left outside in cold weather may experience engine starting difficulties, owing to increased internal friction in the engine, a decrease in performance of the vehicle's electrical system, and increased resistance of the engine's fuel to ignition. In addition, there is always the danger of damage to the engine due to freezing of the coolant, fuel or oil. Also, in a vehicle left outside in cold weather the engine is often slow to warm up to normal operating temperatures, thereby delaying the attainment of a comfortable temperature in the passenger compartment of the vehicle.
Heretofore these cold weather induced problems of hard starting and slow engine warmup have been addressed in a number of ways. Obviously, a heated garage for storing the vehicle overcomes the aforementioned problems. However, a heated garage is something of a rarity and there will be many instances where the vehicle has to be moved to a different location and left unprotected from cold because no garage is available.
Another approach commonly employed has been to supply the engine with heat from an external source to help keep the engine warmer than the ambient temperature. Examples of such are the use of an engine block heater and a simple incandescent lamp placed within the engine compartment. Each of these methods has the notable drawback of requiring access to an external source of electrical power.
Accordingly, it is seen that a need remains for an inexpensive means for protecting a vehicle's engine from cold temperatures, which does not require access to an external source of power, which is carried with the vehicle, and which shortens the period required for the engine to reach normal operating temperature. It is to the provision of such therefore that the present invention is primarily directed.